1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a user interface device, an image forming apparatus, a user interface control method, and a computer program product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, touch-panel display devices are used as user interface devices in image forming apparatuses, such as multifunction peripherals, and electronic information processing apparatuses, such as personal computers, word processors, electronic notebooks, or mobile phones. In order to facilitate input operations, a touch panel is superimposed on the surface of a display panel, the function buttons are displayed on the display panel, and a touch operation is performed on the touch panel at the location corresponding to the displayed function button. Thus, the touch-panel display device enables execution of functions, such as commands assigned to the function buttons, selection of data, or input of characters.
Visually impaired people cannot visually check and operate the function buttons displayed on the display panel of a user interface device that uses the above-described touch-panel display device.
A conventional input device is disclosed that includes a concave-convex display area that displays the same content as that displayed on the display unit in a tactually perceptible manner (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-265035). Push buttons, which have the same functions as those of the function buttons of the display unit, are located in the surroundings of the display unit.
In the above-described conventional technique, there is the concave-convex display area that displays the same content as that displayed on the display unit in a tactually perceptible manner, and the push buttons, which have the same functions as those of the function buttons of the display unit, are located in the surroundings of the display unit. Therefore, users cannot deal with situations where the function buttons are arranged and displayed on the entire display screen of the display unit or where the display screen is shifted in response to an operation so that the locations of the function buttons are changed. Thus, the convenience for users is decreased. For this reason, there is a need to provide a more functional screen display that enables visually impaired people to correctly and easily recognize the locations and functions of the function buttons.
Therefore, there is a need for a user interface device that enables visually impaired people to correctly and easily recognize the locations and functions of the function buttons without being constrained by the display locations of the function buttons, whereby the convenience for users can be improved.